1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of home or business electrical power consumption management. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for measurement and reporting of electrical loads in residential and commercial premises by a centralized resource.
2. Description of Related Art
For some years, there has been a great deal of interest in achieving more efficient utilization of electrical power generation capabilities and measuring consumption by users. With a growing awareness of the ecological impact and economic cost of inefficient utilization of resources, electrical power customers have become aware of the desirability of altering their usage patterns. Some power companies already offer rates which vary according to the time of day, to encourage customers to operate appliances such as clothes dryers, pool pumps and dishwashers during off-peak times. Generally, a high rate is charged during certain hours of peak demand and a lesser rate is charged during other hours of off-peak demand. An alternative approach would permit extension of time-of-day rate setting to allow more frequent (e.g., hourly) changes in rates. That would require, though, that the customer be advised of each rate change. To automate this process, it is necessary that the power customer be able to monitor and control power usage by the more significant loads in the customer""s residence or business.
The current art reveals the benefits of time-managed appliance usage to the customer only when they receive and study a monthly power bill, which ordinarily provides very little information. The customer does not really know, under real usage conditions, how much it costs to operate one appliance when compared with another. One cannot determine, from a monthly bill, the cost of operating a specific appliance attached to a specific outlet or even the comparative cost of operating two different appliances, or how much will be saved by operating a given appliance at any specific rate. Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method which will provide to a customer informative statistical reports on the amount of power consumed by one or more appliances at specific power outlets and the cost of operating those appliances.
The present invention provides a system and method for a datamining service vendor to provide power customers with instant, up to the minute, electrical consumption data. The system and method provide a mechanism by which electrical consumption is measured at the point of consumption over incremental periods of time. Customers can subscribe to a datamining service vendor which monitors and collects data regarding the customer""s electrical consumption at various points within the customer""s electrical system and provides the customer with a detailed report of power consumption statistics and trends. This allows the customer to make informed power consumption choices resulting in cost savings to the customer and conservation of power generation sources.